Paper 1 - Atmospheric Circulation,Hurricanes

Question 1

What happens to the sun’s rays at the North Pole?

Answer 1

The sun’s rays are deflected over a large area due to the curve of the Earth so there is less heating. Temperature is lower here.

Question 2

What happens over the Equator?

Answer 2

The Sun’s rays are concentrated over a small area heating it strongly.

Question 3

Wind moves from….

Answer 3

High pressure to Low pressure.

Question 4

When the ground is heated by the Sun’s rays, the air is also heated. The warm always…

Answer 4

Rises. This warm rising air is called low pressure.

Question 5

Where air cools in the upper atmosphere, it…

Answer 5

Sinks. Sinking air is called high pressure.

Question 6

For every 100m gone up…

Answer 6

You lose 0.65’C

Question 7

The air at the Equator is heated. This air then rises when it reaches the tropopause and then splits and moves towards the Poles….

Answer 7

Until it reaches 30’N and 30’S (Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn) where it sinks as the air cools creating High Pressure Zones. The air then returns to low pressure areas. These spinning circles of air are called Hadley Cells.

Question 8

What happens near the Equator?

Answer 8

The air is rising by so for every 100m it rises, the surrounding air temp cools by 0.65 ‘C, dew point is reached and vapour condensed into droplets and a band of cumulonimbus clouds occur and rain occurs.

Question 9

When the air sinks at 30’N and S, what do you get bands of?

Answer 9

High pressure with sinking air which creates areas of clear skies and the sinking air warms.

Question 10

What is the Coriolis force?

Answer 10

The spin of the Earth causing 2 types of winds: NE and SE trade winds and the westerlies.

Question 11

What are the Westerlies?

Answer 11

Prevailing winds from the west to east between latitudes between 30’ and 60’ latitude.

Question 12

What are polar cells?

Answer 12

Cold sinks creating an area of high pressure and it flows towards the low pressure areas placated at the mid latitudes around Europe.

Question 13

On its journey…..

Answer 13

It bumps into the warmer air heading to the poles. This forces air to rise causing low pressure 60’N and S.

Question 14

What are hurricanes called in certain parts of the world?

Answer 14

US/ Caribbean - hurricanes
South Asia (India, Bangladesh) - cyclones
East Asia ( Philippines) - Typhoons
Australia - Willy-nilly’s

Question 15

Describe the distribution of tropical revolving storms.(3m)

Answer 15

Tropical storms are 5’ and 30’ North and South of the Equator. Hurricanes affect the Caribbean and the USA from August - October and comes from the Atlantic Ocean. Typhoons affect East Asia e.g. the islands of Philippines from the western Pacific Ocean from May - December. Cyclones come from the Indian Ocean during the months October - November and affect South Asia e.g. India

Question 16

Explain the two relationships between tropical storms and general atmospheric circulation. (3m)

Answer 16

Tropical storms occur in the tropics( mainly where the inter-tropical convergence lies(ITCZ)) and the surface winds are coming together at the Hadley Cell. Here, the sun’s rays are concentrated over a smaller area giving higher temperatures and raises sea temperatures to above 27’ degrees. This causes the warm, moist air to rise rapidly which means that condensation occurs which then releases latent heat that the powers the tropical storm. The veer from Coriolis force has to be light so it doesn’t rip the storm apart.

Question 17

How does a tropical storm form?

Steps 1&2

Answer 17

1. Air is heated above the surface of warm tropical oceans that are over 27’C. The warm air rises rapidly over warm air conditions
2. The rising air draws up more air and large volumes of air from the Ocean causing strong winds.

Question 18

Steps 3,4

Answer 18

3. The Coriolis effect( trade winds blowing in opposite directions) causes the air to spin upwards around a calm central eye of the storm.
4. As the air rises, it cools and condenses to form large, towering cumulonimbus clouds which generate torrential rainfall. The heat given off when the air cools powers the tropical storm.

Question 19

Steps 5,6,7

Answer 19

5. Cold air sinks in the eye therefore there’s no cloud so it’s drier and much calmer.
6. The tropical storm travels across the ocean in the prevailing winds.
7. When the tropical storm meets land, it’s no longer fuelled by the source of moisture and heat from the ocean so it loses power and weaken.

Question 20

How does the Coriolis Force affect TRD?

Answer 20

The Coriolis force bends and spins the rising warm air. The spinning can be seen in satellite images. Hurricanes in the northern hemisphere bend to the right.

Question 21

What direction do tropical storms travel in?

Answer 21

Sea: Ts travel from east to west due to the direction in which the Earth spins. When they hit land, they lose their energy source from the sea that powered them.
Land: as they pas over land, friction slows them down. As they lose energy, they change direction.

Question 22

How will the distribution of TRS change due to climate change?

Answer 22

The regions where TS are experienced aren’t expected to change significantly as a result of climate change but with sea temps exceeding over 27’ in areas further north hurricanes will expand a little bit. E.g. 31’ N

Question 23

How will the frequency of TRS change due to climate change?

Answer 23

There’s isn’t expected to be an increase however the number of category 4&5 hurricanes will increase while the number of 1,2&3 are expected to decrease.

Question 24

How will the intensity of TRS change due to climate change?

Answer 24

There’s evidence of a link between warmer oceans and the intensity(destructive power) of tropical storms. They’re expected to become more intense by 2-11% by 2100. The number of severe category 4 or 5 storms have increased since the 1970’s.

Question 25

Typhoon Haiyan causes/ formation

Answer 25

Wind shears were very little
Ocean temperature was 30 degrees
The typhoon was formed in the Pacific
Winds reaching 150mph making it a super typhoon.

Question 26

Background of typhoon Haiyan:

Answer 26

Made landfall @ 4:40 am on the 8th November 2013.
Category 5 hurricane
Deadliest typhoon to ever hit the Philippines at the time.
Started on the 3rd- 11th.

Question 27

Primary effects of typhoon Haiyan:

Answer 27

6,190 has been reported dead. 
2,487 has been reported injured.
11 million homes had been destroyed
71,000 hectares of agricultural land were affected - 1.1 million crops destroyed
Widespread floods
Trees uprooted 
$12 mill of overall damage 
90% of the Tacloban City was destroyed

Question 28

Secondary effects of typhoon Haiyan:

Answer 28

More than 7,000 were killed in total
1.9 million rendered homeless
Outbreaks of disease due to poor sanitation, dirty water, lack of food and shelter
In lesser affected areas, population increased massively due to the influx of refugees
Only 70 people were at work in the immediate days in the Tacloban City compared to the 2,500 normally
6 mill lost their source of income
Tacloban city was damaged due to uprooted trees
The flooding knocked over a Power Barge 103 causing an oil spill - this affected the Mangrove ( evergreen trees that help protect coastal zones) ecosystems.

Question 29

Immediate responses of typhoon Haiyan:

Answer 29

The Philippines declared a ‘state of national calamity’ and asked for international help one day after it hit.
Over £100 million worth of aid was sent including food, water and medicine
The president televised a warning.
THe authorities evacuated 800,000 people
Many sought refuge in an indoor stadium in Tacloban and although it had a roof designed to withstand typhoon winds, they died when it flooded.
Emergency supplies arrived 3 days later by plane one the main airport was reopened.
It was a week before power was restored in some regions and partially in others.
Within a week, > 1 mill food packs and 250,000 litres of water were distributed.
A curfew was imposed 2 days after Typhoon Haiyan in order to reduce looting.
Celebrities such as the Beckhams used their status in order to raise awareness and encourage public donations.

Question 30

Long term responses of Typhoon Haiyan:

Answer 30

New legislation was introduced to prevent construction in high-risk areas
A new disaster early warning system was developed
The government announced a 4-year £6.2 billion plan to rebuild homes, businesses and infrastructure.

Question 31

The Philippines…..

Answer 31

Is a LIC that is highly susceptible to tropical storms. With a high population density and many people living in poorly constructed wooden buildings and so they were poorly affected by Typhoon Haiyan.

Question 32

Protection, planning and prediction of Typhoon Haiyan

Answer 32

The PAGASA, the Philippines’ meteorological agency broadcasted warnings 2 days b4 Haiyan hit leading to the evacuation of approx 750,000 residents. Although this was a 👍🏼 step it wasn’t 👍🏼 enough because 7,000 people died. If the warning was given a few days prior and there was an evacuation process being held in poorer areas then maybe the result wouldn’t have been as catastrophic. As well as that, if the infrastructure was built with storm shutters or flood barriers then less buildings may have been destroyed.

Question 33

How can tropical storms be predicted?

Answer 33

All available weather data is fed into a supercomputer and then the supercomputer runs models to predict the path and intensity of tropical storms.

Question 34

Examples of tropical storms prediction:

Answer 34

2013, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) developer 2 new supercomputers:
~ 1992- location of a Ts, predicted with 3 days’ warning could be wrong by 420 km.
Supercomputers can give 5 days’ warning and a more accurate location with 400 km.
~The National Hurricane centre in Florida predicts a tropical story’s path and intensity up to 7 days using a ‘track cone.’ The cone shape allows for error with the unpredictable behaviour of the TS, especially when it hits land. Around 70% of TS occur within the predicted cone.

Question 35

Is protection from a TS possible?

Answer 35

Buildings have areas of weakness which can be reinforced to reduce damage caused by the forceful winds of tropical storms - mitigation.
In the USA, the Federal Emergency management Agency advises homeowners to:
- install hurricane straps between the roof and halls so that buildings don’t collapse
- install storm shutters on windows so they don’t shatter
- install an emergency generator so electricity doesn’t run out.
- remove trees close to buildings

Question 36

How can planning reduce the risk?

Answer 36

American National Hurricane preparedness week in May aims to encourage people to plan what they need to have and do in the event of tropical storms. Advice included:

• preparing disaster supply kits
• having fuel in vehicles
• knowing where official evacuation shelters are
• storing loose objects
• planning with family on what to do